Can’t Wait to Tessellate! Mrs. Knowlton, Art Teacher Tara Elementary School Bradenton, Florida
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to make your own tessellation pattern to create an amazing tessellation.
Tessellation – a repeating pattern of closed shapes that covers a surface with no gaps and no overlaps.
The word tessellation comes from the root word, tesserae, which means tile. Many mosaic tile installations are tessellations.
M.C. Escher is the most famous tessellation artist. He was born in the Netherlands in1898 and he lived until His father was a civil engineer who wanted his son to be an architect. Escher loved to draw and was fascinated by the mathematical patterns in the world.
Escher knew that only a regular polygon like the could be tessellated. He made his tessellations by working with these basic shapes. SquareTriangleHexagon
Translation (slide) – A movement of a shape to a new position along a straight line
Translation (slide) – A movement of a shape to a new position along a straight line
Translation (slide) – A movement of a shape to a new position along a straight line
Translation (slide) – A movement of a shape to a new position along a straight line
Reflection (flip) – A movement of a shape to a new position by flipping the shape over a line
Reflection (flip) – A movement of a shape to a new position by flipping the shape over a line
Reflection (flip) – A movement of a shape to a new position by flipping the shape over a line
Reflection (flip) – A movement of a shape to a new position by flipping the shape over a line
Rotation – A movement of a shape to a new position by moving the shape around a point.
Rotation – A movement of a shape to a new position by moving the shape around a point.
Rotation – A movement of a shape to a new position by moving the shape around a point.
Rotation – A movement of a shape to a new position by moving the shape around a point.
Rotation – A movement of a shape to a new position by moving the shape around a point.
Transformation – The movement of a shape by translation, reflection or rotation
Transformation – The movement of a shape by translation, reflection or rotation
Transformation – The movement of a shape by translation, reflection or rotation.
Transformation – The movement of a shape by translation, reflection or rotation
Transformation – The movement of a shape by translation, reflection or rotation
Now, let’s discover how to make your own tessellating shape!
Start with a regular polygon, like a square (it could also be a triangle, hexagon, or octagon)
Start with a regular polygon, like a square. Draw a line on the side of the square.
Start with a regular polygon, like a square. Draw a line on the side of the square. Then cut out the shape, translate and tape the shape to the other side of the square.
Here is your tessellating shape.
Now it is time to imagine what you have created. Maybe it’s a fish
Now it is time to imagine what you have created. The fish becomes a school of fish!
Now imagine another idea with the same tessellating shape. Maybe it’s a ….!
Now imagine another idea with the same tessellating shape. Maybe it’s a ….!
Now imagine another idea with the same tessellating shape. Maybe it’s a ….!
Now imagine another idea with the same tessellating shape. Maybe it’s a Kitten!
Which becomes a whole litter of kittens!
Practice with your team. 1’s Draw the line on one side of the square. 2’s Cut the shape out carefully. 3’s Translate it and tape it to the other side of the square. 4’s What can it be? Share with the class.
Let’s Tessellate!
Now it is time to make your own tessellating shape just like you did with your team. Trace the shape and fill your paper with no gaps or overlaps. Remember, you can make a transformation by translating, reflecting, or rotating your shape.
Decide what your shape can be. Add details to it, repeating them in all the shapes you trace. Add color to make your tessellation come to life. Repeating color patterns look best.